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Spin-orbital mixing in the topological ladder of the two-dimensional metal PtTe2

M. Qahosh1, M. Masilamani2, H. Boban1, Xiao Hou1, G. Bihlmayer3, Y. Mokrousov3, W. Karain4, J. Minár5, F. Reinert2 et al.

J. Schusser5,2, C. M. Schneider1,6,7, and L. Plucinski1,8,*

  • *Contact author: l.plucinski@fz-juelich.de
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Phys. Rev. B 112, 155128 – Published 14 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vcgr-qjyy

Abstract

We visualize the topological ladder and band inversions in PtTe2 using spin-polarized photoemission spectroscopy augmented by three-dimensional momentum imaging. This approach enables the detection of spin polarization in dispersive bands and provides access to topological properties beyond the reach of conventional methods. Extensive mapping of spin-momentum space reveals distinct topological surface states, including a surface Dirac cone at a binding energy EB∼2.3eV and additional states at EB∼1.6eV, EB∼1.0eV, and near the Fermi level. The electronic structure analysis demonstrates strong hybridization between Pt and Te atomic orbitals, confirming the nontrivial topology of these surface states. Furthermore, by comparison to one-step model photoemission calculations, we identify a robust correlation between the initial-state and measured spin polarizations while revealing asymmetries in specific experimental spin textures. These asymmetries, absent in the initial states due to symmetry constraints, arise from the breaking of time-reversal symmetry during the photoemission process, emphasizing the crucial influence of symmetries on experimental signatures of topology. A phase analysis of ladder states in real space suggests a route to probe them using photoemission, paving the way towards spectroscopic access to the quantum geometric tensor.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 155128– Published 14 October, 2025
  • Received 7 February 2025
  • Revised 30 June 2025
  • Accepted 9 September 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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